Brands
Rolls-Royce sets sights on India as next global growth hub
NEW DELHI: Rolls-Royce is warming up its engines for a much bigger role in India. The British engineering major says it wants to turn the country into one of its key global home markets, signalling a sharp expansion across defence, aerospace and advanced engineering.
Speaking to PTI, Rolls-Royce India executive vice president Sashi Mukundan, said the company is planning a major investment to tap opportunities spanning jet engines, naval propulsion, land systems and high-end manufacturing.
At the heart of the plan is a bold ambition. Rolls-Royce wants to help build India’s next generation of combat aircraft engines. Developing a future-ready aero engine in India to power jets under the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft programme is a top priority, Mukundan said.
The move reflects India’s growing weight in the global defence and aerospace map. Rolls-Royce already treats the US and Germany as home markets alongside the UK, thanks to deep manufacturing and engineering footprints in both countries. India, the company believes, is ready to join that club.
Beyond fighter jets, Rolls-Royce sees strong potential in powering naval vessels and supporting land-based defence systems, while also expanding its engineering and technology capabilities on Indian soil.
For India, the pitch is clear. More local design, deeper technology partnerships and a louder role in shaping the future of military and industrial propulsion. For Rolls-Royce, it is about more than business. It is about planting roots in a market that is moving fast and thinking big.
If the plan takes off, India may soon find itself not just buying engines, but helping design the ones that drive tomorrow’s machines.
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
